The Lucky Ones
by cause.A.scene
Summary: Reid wakes up in a hospital miles away from where he began and the team has no idea where to even begin looking for him after a strange case throws them all for a loop. Team fic, no pairings.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **Hello everyone! It has been quite a while, but with the start of a promising new season, I couldn't resist visiting my favorite team and, yes, putting adorable Dr. Reid through the ringer. It's what I do, as wrong as it may seem. Anyway, so I think I have a relatively new and interesting idea here so hopefully I can execute it properly but that's a part of the fun, I suppose.

**Warning: **There will certainly be some spoilers in here, all of which are of former episodes and the only questionable thing is that this is supposed to be set a few months after the season 7 opener so it mentions briefly what I think the team's reactions to Emily's situation might be. So, while not a future spoiler, there is a brief amount of speculation based on what we already know from the season premier. So, apart from that, there are a couple mentions of past episodes.

**Set-Up: **As I mentioned in the 'warning' section, this story is set a few months into season 7 - basically I wanted our rightful team here and while the season seven premier definitely adds a little more depth and drama to what's going on in my story, it is in no way a major part of it. So, season 7 and everything is canon.

**Disclaimer: **The characters are not mine, sadly. I just liked to borrow them and play tea party from time to time. Now...

**Without further ado, I present:**

_The Lucky Ones - _Chapter 1 (Introduction)**  
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><p>Sterile.<p>

That was the first word that popped into Spencer Reid's frightfully hazy mind as the smell of cleaning supplies along with the hard-to-describe scent that Reid had only ever smelled in hospitals and clinics filled his nostrils. The only way he could really express the overall odor was with one word: sterile.

And, seeing as how scent was the sense most closely linked to memory and he had never experienced this aroma in any place other than a medical facility, he could conclude with great certainty that he had landed himself in a hospital.

With this, more confirming details of his surroundings began to flood his senses, the first being pain. He was hurting quite literally, all over. Some places, like his head for instance, stood out from the general aching and throbbing that engulfed his whole body but for the most part, none of it was necessarily incapacitating.

Next came the sour taste in his mouth that he had only ever experienced after being held in that cabin with Tobias Henkle where he was drugged, not permitted food and certainly was unable to brush his teeth. It was, of course, most unpleasant. Despite all of this, however, the most telling sign that he was definitely in a hospital were the sounds. The beeping of monitors was the most notable of them but in the distance he could also hear people walking and talking in somewhat hushed voices.

Oh yes, there was no doubt in his mind that he was in a hospital of some sort and, based on his level of pain, he clearly belonged there. Still, he had absolutely no clue what had happened to get him to this point. Which is what scared him the most.

As he began fighting his unbelievably heavy eyelids, he broke into a cough against his dry throat and heard the beeping of the monitor beside him increase. And, just as he won the battle with his eyes, he saw a nurse come into his blurred vision.

He coughed a few more times before allowing her to bring a straw to his mouth and relished the cold water sliding down his sore throat. After breaking away from the straw, which had already drained him significantly of what little energy he had, he took a deep breath and blinked a few more times before his vision cleared.

It was only then he noticed that his eyes, and apparently other parts of his face, were rather swollen from some sort of impact. With every new detail such as this, a little more panic filled his mind.

"Take it easy, sir" the middle-aged nurse said kindly. "My name is Maggie and I'm your nurse. How are you feeling?" she asked as she looked over his monitors and charts.

Reid clenched his eyes shut, still flustered by the fact that he had no idea what was going on.

"Sir? Can you hear me?"

Reid, confused by the fact that she kept calling him 'sir' instead of his name, took a deep breath and replied, "I'm… okay."

The nurse smiled warmly and soon after, a man entered the room who was clearly a doctor.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Parsa," he greeted rather loudly and Reid was immediately able to deduce that this man had some notable degree of narcissism in him. "It's nice to finally see you awake."

"W-what happened?" Reid asked, the pain in his head getting the worse by the moment.

"We were hoping you could tell us that," the nurse replied sweetly, her hand now on his forearm. Reid, though appreciative of her kindness, was certain he registered her using a tone that would normally be suitable to utilize with a child or perhaps someone who was not in their right mind. This only served to startle and frustrate him more.

"Can you tell us your name?" the doctor asked.

Reid wanted to roll his eyes, knowing that these rudimentary questions were all a part of the process but he wanted answers, not silly questions.

"Reid," he said quickly, then thinking better of it, clarified, "_Dr._ Spencer Reid."

"You're a doctor?" the nurse replied quickly but the skepticism was not lost on Reid. He was used to people being surprised that he was a doctor at his age, but there was something in the eyes and attitudes of the people standing before him that made him think they were not buying it for a second.

"Yes, I'm a doctor _and _an FBI agent," he stated almost angrily, but immediately regretted it because if they thought he was crazy for claiming to be a doctor, they certainly weren't going to accept this new information.

"Right, well Mr. Reid," the doctor began with an amused voice that enraged Reid even more and increased the aching in his head.

"It's _doctor._"

"_Dr. _Reid,_" _the man clarified with a grin, "Do you know where you are?"

"In a hospital."

"What year is it?"

"2011," Reid replied, still extremely annoyed by the situation.

"What state are you in?"

"Virginia."

He noticed the doctor first appear confused but he hastily returned to his smug grin.

"Right," Dr. Parsa said, "Because that's where the FBI headquarters is located."

Reid frowned. He could tell the doctor still didn't believe him and this last comment was yet another veiled stab at what the doctor thought was Reid's sanity or lack thereof. However, based on the doctor's reaction, Reid could safely say that he was not in Virginia.

"Wait," Reid said quickly. "Where am I?"

"You _are _in the hospital," the nurse said calmly, still as if talking to a child.

"I know," Reid said quickly, irritated because he knew there was something very important about where he was. "What state am I in?"

"You are in Jacksonville, Florida," the nurse answered, her concern and confusion growing. But it was lost on Reid whose mind was suddenly being flooded with memories of the case the team had been working on.

"How did you find me? What happened?"

The doctor and nurse, who both seemed confused now, looked at each other before the doctor continued.

"You were found in a wrecked van on the side of the road. There didn't appear to be a driver unless you crawled into the back after the accident."

"You were quite injured," the nurse continued, "And we wanted to call your next of kin but…"

"There was no form of identification," Reid finished, already piecing everything together in his mind. The nurse nodded in confirmation. Reid winced as the beeping of his heart monitor picked up its pace and the throbbing in his head amplified.

"Mr. Reid, what is going on here?" The doctor now asked, seemingly upset that something was going on that he did not have control over.

"As I tried to tell you before, I'm an FBI agent and the last thing I remember is working on a case that I have clearly become a victim of. A _lucky _victim as everyone so far has been found dead but never-the-less. How long have I been here?"

The two medical personnel, both rattled at this point, began fumbling with the chart and their own words.

"We've had you here since yesterday morning," the nurse began.

"So almost two days."

Reid winced again against the pain radiating through his body. "From Quantico to Jacksonville is roughly six hundred and eighty miles which would take about eleven hours depending on traffic…," he said aloud, calculating in his mind and visualizing a map of the east coast. "So, I've been missing for at least three days."

"This must be some sort of joke...? Your head injury has..." the doctor said with his smug smile.

With the pain reaching an almost unbearable level now along with the doctor's rude personality, Reid was on his last nerve.

"You can continue to question who I am, it really makes no difference to me," Reid interrupted, bringing his IV-free hand to his swollen face in an attempt to help his pounding head. "But the fact of the matter is, my team is looking for me and more importantly, you may very well still have a serial killer in your city right now, which, based on Jacksonville's crime rate, is certainly the last thing you need. Now, if you want to be of any kind of help to me at all, you will help me make a phone call. Right now."

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><p><strong>EN: <strong>Oh... interesting! Or, at least I hope it was. It's always a little scary for me when I stray from tags and try to make my own storyline, but hopefully this one turns out okay. Either way, thank you for reading, reply if you have the chance/feel compelled to, but most importantly, please come back for more if you like it so far! Thank you :) P.S. - I'm from Jacksonville so I'm allowed to pick on it ;)


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: **Thank you for the reviews and reading. Glad I got some people's attention and hope I can please you guys.

**Warning: **I feel like this one is pretty boring. I set up the whole case basically so... a lot of description and all of that. So... sorry but it's a necessary evil.

That's about it so...

**Chapter Two:**

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><p><strong>FOUR DAYS EARLIER<strong>

Reid unconsciously swished from side to side in his chair as he read his daily regimen of articles on the computer. Things had been oddly quiet at the BAU for the past couple of days which was a relief to Reid but it also made him antsy. He did not like to idly sit around very much which made this job perfect for him because there was usually always some case to solve and puzzle to piece together. However, this had not been the case for the past few days.

So, today, Reid chose to get updates on some of the various cases they had worked and memorable people they had met along the way. He had already looked up a Dr. Barton whose son had been targeted when really the target was the doctor himself. This was memorable for Reid who had been shot during that case as well as the Hotch/Foyet ordeal, but he had also been curious about the Barton's themselves. Apparently, Dr. Barton had been promoted recently and his son was accepted into a very prestigious school. Reid smiled, knowing that the team had played a major role in where that family was now.

Then there was Sarah Hillridge whose son was one of many abducted but also one of three saved. Charlie, Sarah's son, had been held for almost a decade but Sarah had never given up on him and it paid off for her as well as the other parents who, if nothing else, got closure from her persistence. The powerful connection between mother and child had intrigued Reid from this case and he was pleased to see that they were also doing well in the aftermath.

Finally, there was the case of young women disappearing in the Atlanta club scene in which the team had worked with a Detective Rachel Harding. This is where the good news had ended. Rachel Harding had gone missing five days before being found dead in Louisiana. As curious as that was, the story persisted with the fact that she had been abducted in the middle of the night and was found with absolutely no identification. In fact, the only reason that she was identified was because a family member of hers who was vacationing in the area saw the report about Rachel and was able to identify her body.

Reid frowned as he read this, not only because he had worked closely with this woman, but also because of the case itself. The police had of course looked into it but they had no suspects and no leads which had left the case cold for several months now.

With the gut feeling that something wasn't right, Reid decided to look further into this case. Given how wide the parameters were, he would first have to find a pattern, if one existed. That meant looking into the notable elements of this case: law enforcement officer, abduction, murdered several states away. First, he pulled up missing law enforcement officers and was almost surprised at how many results were returned.

After quickly reading the details of the case, he then decided to narrow the search more by only looking at people taken from the eastern half of the United States. Finally, he looked into any cases that had been solved.

"What you doing, kid?"

Reid jumped at Morgan's inquiry, clearly having been quite engulfed in his research.

"Oh, nothing," he replied, not wanting to get to bring up a case that may not even exist. "Just doing some research."

Morgan looked at the screen and frowned. "Missing officers? Pretty depressing, Reid."

"Um, yes, but who knows what kind of patterns one may find when looking at data…"

Morgan grinned and rolled his eyes. "Man, you are just itching for a case, aren't you?"

Reid shrugged, wanting the conversation to end quickly.

"Just don't get too caught up in it, or you'll start seeing things that aren't there," Morgan stated and followed up with a friendly slap to the shoulder.

Reid frowned. Maybe he _was_ itching for a case. Or maybe the death of a fellow law enforcement officer that he had personally worked with got to him. Either way, he owed it to Rachel Harding to at least follow through with it and check all possibilities.

So, turning back to the computer, he examined the new results of solved cases. He began reading and before he had even realized that half an hour had passed, he was done and was rather surprised at his findings.

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><p>Aaron Hotchner stood along the rail overlooking the bullpen. He often found himself observing his agents, especially during times like these when there were no cases. As important as it was to observe them in action, he also found that monitoring them at leisure was also important. They all had their ways of handling the horrors of the job and for the most part, they were usually in light moods during down times. They would joke and speak with each other playfully; catching up on what little of the lives they had outside of the job.<p>

Especially after everything that had happened with Emily's presumed death and resurrection, Hotch was finally beginning to see the team become a family once more. The ladies seemed to fall into place rather easily with JJ having known the truth the whole time and Garcia being far too pleased to be upset. Rossi had not seemed to surprised or upset by it all but Hotch had a feeling the legendary agent had guessed what was going on quite some time ago . Morgan and Reid, however, had taken it the hardest: Morgan angry for being kept in the dark and Reid hurt and betrayed for the same reasons.

Still, that was almost two months ago now and both Morgan and Reid had been doing a lot better. Still, as Hotch observed them all, he noticed that Reid was the only one who was not at all social with the others. JJ, Morgan and Rossi were all speaking to each other and laughing while Prentiss and Garcia was seemingly engaged in a conversation about cats. But Reid was alone. He didn't seem upset; in fact, he seemed extremely engaged with whatever he was working on.

Hotch had been watching him off and on for about two hours now. It had started with him looking through articles on the internet, then it was followed by unknown searches and now he had been on the phone several times and this last call had lasted for at least twenty minutes. All the while, Reid had been getting more and more interested in whatever he was doing.

Knowing that Reid would not be talking to anyone for the fun of it, Hotch was suddenly curious at what the man could have possibly been doing. But, after watching him get up and walk directly to Hotch with a determined look on his face, it was clear Aaron wouldn't have to wait much longer to find out.

"Hotch, I found something!" he stated importantly, coming up to Aaron.

"What is it?" Hotch asked, reaching for the manila folder he held in his hands. Hotch opened it and was immediately met with a familiar face.

"That's Detective Rachel Harding," Reid began, clearly noticing the confused look on Aaron's face. "We worked with her in Atlanta a couple years ago. Remember? The case about the pick-up artist who was killing girls from a bar?"

Hotch nodded, suddenly remembering the case. He flipped to the next page and was taken aback to now see a picture of Detective Harding on an autopsy table.

"She was abducted from her home in Atlanta four months ago and was found five days later in Lousiana. She was found with no I.D. and was only identified because a family member was on vacation in Louisiana and saw the report."

Hotch looked up at Reid who showed no signs of being done with the presentation.

"The case went cold so I decided to do a little digging and turns out there are two other law enforcement officers over the past six years who were abducted from different states along the eastern coast but were all found several states away with no identification. And all of the victims were beaten and eventually shot to death."

Reid took another deep breath and flipped the pages in Hotch's hands before continuing.

"And all of these victims were discovered purely by happenstance. Rachel Harding's family member was on vacation, Danny Finch was recognized by a former colleague and Ronald Darling was matched because he apparently had enough time to write his name in his own blood before dying. His case was the earliest so I'm guessing the unsub hadn't perfected his techniques."

Hotch finished looking at Reid's reports then looked back at the young agent. He couldn't deny it, it seemed as though Reid had stumbled across an actual case. He would need more details of course, but so far it looked like the real deal.

"Alright Reid," Hotch said and closed the folder. "Let's pull the team together and see what else we can find and go from there."

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><p>A few hours and several phone calls later, the team came together in the conference room. Hotch remained standing and watched as photos of victims were placed on the boards and Garcia pulled up other pictures and articles on the screen.<p>

"Alright Reid, present," Hotch encouraged, wanting the young man to present the case he had discovered.

Reid, looking strangely embarrassed stood up and began repeating what he had already told Hotch, only this time he continued on and with more detail.

"I pulled up the autopsy reports and found that in addition to being beaten and shot, all of the victims were tossed out like trash in alley ways. All except Detective Harding," he clarified, pulling up the picture of the woman at the crime scene. "I talked with someone from the Atlanta police department and while still left in an alley, she did show some signs of remorse in her positioning. See how her hair is neatly brushed out of her face and the newspapers seem almost like a blanket?" he continued, pointing to the enlarged picture on the screen.

Hotch had to look away briefly, finding it hard to look at Detective Harding after having worked with her personally.

"The others were simply trash to the unsub but the small details of Rachel Harding suggest that the unsub cared about her at least to some degree. Now, so far there is no connection between the victims other than the fact that they are all law enforcement officers, but I guarantee you they will all have some connection to the unsub and Rachel Harding's will probably be the most obvious given her subtle, but apparent positioning."

"So we have a cop killer?" Morgan said in disgust. Hotch was not surprised by this reaction given that Morgan had spent so much of his time as an officer himself. These cases always struck home for him.

"It would appear so," Emily stated as she thumbed through the pictures on her iPad. "And who knows how many more this unsub has killed. Given his method there may be many people who were never identified."

"Which means we have a case," Rossi chimed in.

"And a difficult one, at that," JJ added.

There was no disagreement on that one. Given the nature of this unsub, the case would be much different than normal.

"We are going to have to approach this one a little differently," Hotch said, his hand resting on his chin. "It would be best to get as much information as possible from here before heading out to any certain location. Hopefully we will be able to gather more data before he strikes again.

"Garcia, look into the other missing persons and compare them with unidentified victims and see if there are any possible matches. JJ, Morgan and Prentiss contact each of the police departments and let them all know what's going on, collect more information and let them know we will contact them if we get any more information. Reid and Rossi, I want you to dive further into our victim's history and see if you can find any connections or even better, our unsub. I'll let Strauss know what's going on then be around to check in with you guys."

Everyone nodded then went in their respective directions to begin their jobs but before Reid left the room, Hotch called after him.

"Reid."

The young agent turned around with an inquisitive look.

"Good work."

After a brief moment of surprise, Reid grinned nervously and nodded before leaving the room. Hotch took a deep breath then began on his own task.

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><p><strong>EN: <strong>Okay hope it wasn't too awful for anyone. Okay, here's a big thing that's been worrying me: I tried to research whether or not all law enforcement officers are in a database based on their DNA because it seems like a good idea but it would make this storyline very impossible to play out. However, after at least an hour of trying, I did not find an answer either way. So, if any of you know that they all are in a database, then feel free to tell me but we are just going to pretend like that database doesn't exist. Unless it bothers people too much because then I'll just abandon the story. Okay, that's all folks. Until next time!**  
><strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: **Thank you everyone for reading and for the reviews. I was getting down on myself because every now and then, I feel as though I've written myself into a hole. But either way, I will not be abandoning this story so no worries there. You'll have to be patient with updates because alas, I'm in college, working for Disney and looking at a future change in major to psychology. Bottom line, real life always gets in the way. But, I don't think updates will ever be too far apart.

**Warning: **Nothing really... except there's a lot of information in this chapter so pay attention. Oh! And this story was no beta'd so all of the mistakes are my own.

Okay, go for it!

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><p><strong>PRESENT<strong>

Derek Morgan slammed his fist down on the desk in pure and utter frustration. He had been looking through these case files and pictures for days now, calling anyone and everyone who may be related to this case and had even been to Reid's apartment twice already to dig through everything the kid owned. To say he felt angry, devastated, terrified and even dirty for violating his partner and friend's privacy was a severe understatement.

The truth was, he couldn't handle the death of another agent and friend. Even though Prentiss was not actually dead, her presumed death had taken a very heavy toll on him and had him going to very dark places. And as horrible as Emily's "death" had been , if they lost Reid, it would be completely different. It was no secret that Derek had practically always seen Reid as his little brother whom he always picked on, yes, but whom he had the strongest need to protect. It was not that Reid wasn't capable, because he most certainly was, but it was simply because Reid still, despite everything, possessed this sort of innocence and naivety that Derek never wanted the world to be without.

This whole situation was killing him. About three days ago, a day after Reid had brought the case up in the first place, they had all arrived at work to continue researching the case when they realized Reid wasn't there. Being the profilers that they were, after calling several times, they stormed into his apartment to find Reid's badge, gun and wallet all neatly laid on the floor in front of the door, taunting them and letting them know right away that Reid had been taken by the same unsub they were currently tracking down.

From there, the case became extremely personal.

The hunt became all but frantic as they searched high and low for any surveillance cameras, witnesses, fingerprints or absolutely anything else that may give them a lead. Unfortunately, this unsub was very thorough.

So then, knowing that targeting Reid could not have been coincidental, they began looking into his every step to see all of the people he had come into contact with and match alibis. Currently, three days since Reid had gone missing, they were still getting nothing but it was their best lead at this point, so they continued.

"Okay, the only people he spoke directly with, as far as we know are," JJ began, the disparity in her voice growing just as the others' had, "Vincent Mallard of the Atlanta, Georgia P.D., Anna Lodgen of the Greenville, South Carolina P.D. and Robert Ashley of the Auburn, Alabama P.D… all of whom have alibis."

"What if it wasn't someone he talked to?" Garcia asked. "Most of us here talked with those departments, what if it was someone one of us talked to and they wanted to target the team but Reid was just the first one they got to?"

"It's possible but unlikely," Rossi stated, his hand rubbing at his head. "The unsub had to act quickly after finding out that we were onto them. The best course of action would be to go after whoever they talked to as opposed to searching out our whole team and then randomly attacking one of us."

Hotch nodded in agreement, "You're right. This had to be planned and fast. They had to have targeted Reid from the beginning to give adequate time to find out where he lives, get there and abduct him."

Morgan listened, his frustration not getting any better as these conversations were just that: all talk. They weren't _doing _anything. Sure, they had put out a bolo to every police station in the eastern United States but apart from that, they just didn't have enough to go on.

"It doesn't make sense, though," Emily interjected, "If the unsub knew we were after him, why would he go after one of us? I mean, wouldn't that make it easier to catch him?"

That was very true. Nothing this unsub did had been sloppy or stupid thus far.

"Well, he hasn't been noticed until now," JJ reasoned, "Maybe he panicked and didn't think it through."

But then something hit Morgan like a ton of bricks. "Wait a minute," he said as he stood up and began walking in the opposite direction. "He talked to those departments after we had our meeting, right? Once you gave us our assignments," Morgan questioned, looking at Hotch.

Hotch nodded in confirmation, his eyebrows now furrowed in interest in where Morgan was going with this.

"Didn't he mention that he had talked to someone before he came to us? When he was giving the presentation of the case, I'm pretty sure he said he had already talked to someone. He was making phone calls that morning, surely he talked to other people."

"That's true," Hotch said, "I do remember him making a few phone calls, I just didn't think anything of it," he continued with a look of shame on his face. Morgan knew it was not Hotch's fault but he didn't have time to console him.

"Well, before he came to us," Morgan continued, then turned to Hotch, "Before he came to _you, _I doubt he was telling these people we were actually picking up the case. He was probably saying that he was noticing a possible pattern that _may _turn into an actual case. I mean, at that point he wouldn't have been promising anyone anything."

Prentiss nodded then, seemingly catching on to Morgan's train of thought. "So what if the unsub assumed that Reid was the only person who was looking into these cases as being more than isolated incidents and decided that getting rid of Reid would mean the unsub could stay hidden."

"That could be why the unsub targeted at least one of the victims," JJ added. "Maybe he killed one or two and then someone started snooping and so he had to get rid of them too…?"

"That may have been why Rachel Harding was positioned differently," Rossi said, deep in contemplation. "Our unsub had to be at one of these departments that Reid contacted, right? And the only victim that was treated differently was Rachel Harding. What if the unsub worked with her but had no choice to kill her if she started figuring things out?"

"Okay, okay," Hotch said definitively. "All of this is great, but it's all speculation at this point. We need to thoroughly examine everyone who was working at the Atlanta police department yesterday morning and see if any of them could have done this. Atlanta is a very long drive..."

"Long, yes, but very possible," Garcia said, to which everyone nodded.

They were all about to be at their stations when Hotch's phone rang. At first Morgan thought nothing of it as his mission was very clear but then he happened to look up and noticed the unusually emotion-filled look on Hotch's face, and immediately stopped in his tracks.

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><p>Hotch, who was beyond relieved that they <em>finally <em>had some sort of lead, was about to get started with the task at hand and hopefully find Reid in time. So far, the other victims were found four to five days later and based on the autopsies, the unsub kept the victims alive until he reached the dumping site which gave Hotch and everyone else at least some hope that Reid was still alive as they were only on day three.

Regardless, hope was fading no matter how hard Hotch tried to hold onto it, but no matter what, he did not express this to the others.

Hotch took a deep breath and began to turn away to head to his own computer when his phone rang. He stopped temporarily to look at the caller idea and was surprised to see a number with a 904 area code.

" Hotchner," he answered, extremely worried at what this may be. Thoughts of a ransom demand or something of the sort ran through his mind.

"_Hello, Mr. Hotchner_," a man greeted on the other end, "_My name is Dr. Parsa and I was given this number by a Spencer Reid. Do you recognize this name?_"

"Yes," Hotch said immediately, his heart almost coming to a completely stop as he eyed any of his agents who were looking his way, letting them know this was a highly important phone call. "How is he?"

"_Well it depends,_" the man said in a tone that, for some reason, rubbed Hotch the wrong way. "_Physically he has sustained many injuries, most of which appear to have been from his car accident but none of them seem life-threatening at this point. I'm most concerned about his concussion. He seems to be under the delusion that he is a doctor and an FBI agent and…_"

Rage suddenly filled Hotch's body as he noted the comical tone in the doctor's voice. This man clearly thought Reid had lost his grip with reality and was proceeding to make fun of him, though the man tried to mask it.

"Stop right there," Hotch demanded, trying his very best not threaten the man from the very start. "I will have you know that the man you are currently poking fun at not only holds three doctorates in Mathematics, Chemistry and Engineering and has an IQ of 187, he is in fact a very skilled federal agent who was kidnapped by a very dangerous serial killer that we are trying to hunt down," Hotch declared slowly through nearly gritted teeth. "Now, my name is Special Agent Aaron Hotchner with the FBI and I need information, and I need it right now. If you are prepared to show me and my agent some respect, I would like to hear it from you. If not, pass the phone to someone who can."

Though the relief of hearing that Reid was alive and in safe hands greatly outweighed the sheer anger pulsing through his veins, he couldn't help but despise the very idea of this man interacting with Reid who had no doubt already been through quite enough.

"_R-right, right, I'm sorry Agent,_" the doctor fumbled. "_What do you need to know?_"

"Is Dr. Reid available for me to speak to?"

"_No, he's having tests done and…"_

"Fine, then I need to know what hospital you are at, the name, the city and the state and I need to know how he was found. Then, immediately after we hang up you need to make sure your hospital staff is aware that officers will be stationed outside Dr. Reid's room and only authorized personnel will be permitted, do I make myself clear?"

"_Yes,"_ the man replied quickly, "_Yes, of course._"

Hotch, now the center of everyone's attention, started motioning to the others, letting them know that they would very soon be heading to the jet to fly to Reid.

"Okay, go," Hotch said after the sad excuse of a doctor didn't give him the information he asked for.

"_R-right, I'm sorry,_" he stumbled quickly, "_We are at Baptist Medical in Jacksonville, Florida. All I know is that he was found in a crashed van early yesterday morning with no identification. He obviously has injuries indicative of a car accident but there are others… older bruises and abrasions that suggest he's been beaten._"

Hotch's stomach clenched tightly as the doctor explained all of this but it was becoming more and more clear that Reid had lucked out majorly, although Hotch was not positive of that just yet.

"Is that all?"

"_Yes," _he replied, sounding almost relieved to have gotten the story out. "_Is there anything else I can do?_"

Hotch only needed to think about it for a moment before answering, "Yes, Dr. Parsa, find my agent another doctor but stick around so I can talk to you face-to-face when I arrive."

There was a pause on the other end before the man basically squeaked out an "Okay."

Hotch, with a slight grin on his face, hung up the phone before addressing his now excited agents.

"Baptist Medical, Jacksonville, Florida. Wheels up in twenty, I'll explain the rest on the plane but," Hotch paused for a moment as he finally took in the information himself and relished the fact that he was able to give his team good news, "He's alive."

The relief and elation that filled the entire room was palpable and Hotch would remember this moment for the rest of his life. Yes, it was brought on by a horrific experience, but the fact that it was going relatively well thus far was enough to make it more than memorable.

Everyone, after a brief personal expression of triumph, dispersed to grab their bags and prepare to fly to Florida. Hotch, on the other hand, grabbed his phone and was ready to dial.

"Garcia," he said quickly, "What's the number for the Jacksonville Police Department."

Garcia immediately turned to her iPad and began searching before promptly calling out the desired phone number. Hotch took a deep breath and began to explain the situation and give orders to the police department, letting them know exactly what was happening and how they needed to prepare.

Soon everyone was back together with their bags and they all began to move out.

"Hotch, what was that doctor like?" JJ asked, which was apparently a popular question as everyone turned to hear the answer as they walked.

"He was questioning Reid's sanity," Hotch said, still angered by the whole situation. "He apparently found it funny that Reid claimed to be a doctor and FBI agent."

Everyone seemed peeved by this, especially considering that when it came to Reid, his sanity was a very sensitive subject, but Morgan looked particularly irate.

"Good job then," he said quickly, "with what you said."

Hotch smiled slightly, still getting the welcome waves of relief that were so refreshing after the three days of purely negative emotions. Hotch sighed one last time as they neared the jet. With this job, there was almost always more devastation than miracles. And of those miracles, most were due to their investigative skills but every now and then, the miracles were based on pure happenstance. In this current situation, to Hotch's great surprise, it was looking more and more like Reid and the whole team would be able to consider themselves some of those lucky ones.

* * *

><p><strong>EN: <strong>Hope you liked it. Haha I really took it out on dear Dr. Parsa but it felt good. What I like about this new season so far is that everyone seems so much... stronger. Strong-willed, I guess. So I've used this in the story because I like it here and there, especially on characters like Reid and JJ were weren't really known for it previously. Alrighty well, thank you for reading, review if you have a chance/want to, and hopefully see you real soon!


	4. Chapter 4

**AN:** Sorry it took so long but here you go :) Don't have a whole lot to say and my document manager is being odd so I'm just gonna post this and hope for the best. Enjoy guys and thank you so much for reading and sticking with me!

It had been a very long year, JJ thought to herself as they neared a small airport in Jacksonville, Florida. From her relocation to the Pentagon to Emily's alleged death and resurrection, the team's already complicated lives had exceeded everything else thus far. To say that the past year was difficult would perhaps be the understatement of the century.

It hadn't _all_ been bad, of course, but with the assumed death and resurrection of Emily, the team had seen an unfortunate rift that had left ripples of pain, confusion and various other mixed feelings for weeks. Now, or rather the weeks leading up to Reid's abduction, everything had begun to settle and fall into place once more. Perhaps even better than before. JJ was pleased with her promotion to full-fledged profiler and everyone was overcoming his or her hard feelings over the necessary lie concerning Emily's condition, especially Reid who had shown the most hostility upon her return. And, interestingly enough, that hostility had been directed primarily towards JJ.

It broke her heart a million times over. Yes, she had seen him cry far too many times over a death that had never actually happened, but she couldn't have told him the truth. It had been simply impossible. Eventually, the hostility faded away but even now, Reid did not treat her the same as he did before. She was no longer his confidant nor did he seem to see her as a sister figure.

"I know everyone is eager to touch base with Reid," Hotch began as the trip was drawing to a close, pulling JJ from her thoughts, "But if this unsub is still in Jacksonville, or even nearby, he won't be for very long. We need to work fast."

Everyone nodded but JJ could sense the same sort of guilt and frustration at having to focus on the case, not their friend, that had been present when Reid was infected with anthrax. Still, Hotch was right.

"JJ," he continued, beginning now on the assignments. "I want you to go check on Reid and if he is able, get his story."

JJ shared the palpable sense of concern at Hotch's statement. The last thing any of them wanted was to imagine Spencer Reid in a condition bad enough to keep him from talking.

"Morgan and Prentiss, I also want you to head to the hospital where you will meet with the officer who discovered Reid and the crash. He's stationed at Reid's room for protection. You may also have to end up talking to Dr. Parsa, his original doctor," Hotch continued with a grim expression and a fresh, short-lived wave of anger.

JJ watched as Morgan and Emily nodded and suddenly found herself thankful that they would also be at the hospital so she didn't have to face Reid all by herself when she had no idea what condition he was in.

"Rossi, you and I will head to the police station. They brought the vehicle Reid was found in to the station and apparently there are some working traffic cameras that caught the accident."

Everyone nodded, relieved that the recently hopeless case now had so many viable leads.

As the plane began it's decent into the airport, JJ took a deep breath and gathered her scattered thoughts. The most important thing was Reid was alive and everything else could wait.

The plane soon came to a stop and the team existed and made their way to the awaiting FBI issued SUV's. JJ took the back seat while Morgan drove and Emily occupied the passenger seat. JJ was quite fine with this arrangement as her mind was all over the place.

She couldn't help but feel concerned about seeing Reid. They didn't know how bad he was and as silly as it sounded, she was afraid of how he would look. He was, after all, beaten to some degree and in an accident… It would be surprising if he didn't look like he'd been through hell and back.

JJ closed her eyes as they pulled into the hospital and took a deep breath. She was quite certain that, if Reid was conscious, he would be nothing but pleased to see her but the worry remained in the back of her mind. What if he did not wish to confide in her any longer? The thought made her sick to her stomach as it was a further reminder that she had lost, be it temporarily or permanently, one of her closest friends.

"Let's go find Reid," Morgan stated as he unbuckled quickly and left the vehicle. JJ and Emily followed suit and made their way into the hospital lobby.

"We are looking for Dr. Spencer Reid," Emily beat them to it, greeting the hospital clerk.

The clerk nodded and began checking her computer.

"It appears as though he has been moved to a private room on the second floor," she replied. "Room 212 in the recovery ward."

"Is he allowed visitors?" JJ asked, knowing that the answer would provide a bit more insight into his condition.

"It says here to see his doctor beforehand, so just check in with the desk up there and they will let you know."

"Thank you," Morgan said before turning away. They made their way up the nearby staircase and towards room 212. It was not hard to spot as it was the only room with a police officer standing outside of it. Not only that, a group of medical personnel stood closely by around a desk, looking curiously towards Reid's room.

As they got closer to the room and gained attention from the group, JJ noticed a doctor amongst the group quickly look away from them. Right away, she assumed the man was the infamous Dr. Parsa that Hotch had chewed out on the phone earlier.

"We are here for Dr. Spencer Reid," Morgan said sternly, his heated gaze falling upon Dr. Parsa who quickly turned his own attention to another doctor who was exiting Reid's room. JJ tried to get a peak of Reid but the door closed before she had the chance.

"I'm Dr. Mestas," a younger man greeted as he approached. "I am taking over Dr. Reid's care. And you are?"

Without hesitation, they all pulled out their badges as though everyone were questioning who they were.

"I see," Dr. Mestas replied as his eyes wandered judgingly over to Dr. Parsa. "If you would follow me."

The three agents proceeded to follow Dr. Mestas into what looked to be an empty waiting room before turning to face them once more.

"I simply wanted to get away from the masses," the young man said softly and JJ was immediately able to peg him as an old soul. "Dr. Reid has become quite the talk around here."

JJ frowned and glanced over at Morgan who seemed further annoyed by this statement.

"How is he?" Emily asked, clearly wanting to get to the point both for the sake of knowing how Reid was as well as getting to their job of questioning the police officer.

"He is…," the doctor began, "alive. And expected to remain as such. In fact, I am hopeful for a full recovery. Eventually."

He then took a deep breath and began to explain himself.

"Dr. Reid was found in a wreck vehicle. In the back of a work van, to be exact. He was not restrained in any way, so during impact, he was clearly thrown and collided with, I'm assuming, the front seats or center console. Either way, he sustained several injuries, including a pretty nasty concussion and numerous broken bones, but all in all, he was extremely lucky. Too lucky, in fact."

JJ frowned at this, wondering why the man had chosen those words.

"You see, a great deal of injuries during a car accident are due to people bracing for impact," the doctor explained, holding out his arms as if holding a steering wheel. "Normally, I would expect to see far more injury, potentially even fatal, in this particular scenario. And while Dr. Reid was injured severely, it was not nearly as bad as one would expect."

"Well, clearly it worked in our favor," Morgan said, apparently still confused as to where the doctor was going with this.

"Oh, of course," Dr. Mestas continued. "The only reason it worries me is because Dr. Reid also has no recollection of his abduction. He said his first memory before waking up in the hospital was going to sleep in his apartment over three days ago. With his concussion, some memory loss can be expected but nothing quite this extensive. All of this leads me to believe he was kept unconscious the entire time."

JJ frowned. He was out the entire time? That would certainly add some important details to the profile but it also worried her for Reid's sake.

"I have not found any unusual results from our tests but as I'm sure you know, chloroform does not stay in the body for long so there's a good chance we won't know for sure. Given the situation I thought that bit of information may be useful to you."

JJ, approving of this man more and more by the second, nodded along with the rest of her team.

"That is very helpful, thank you," Emily spoke softly.

"Can we see him?" questioned Morgan, getting to the point.

Dr. Mestas nodded slowly, "Yes, but I must warn you that his body is very banged up and he is refusing the recommended level of narcotics to ease his pain. So please do not excite him in any way and if he falls asleep, do not disturb him. Sleep is basically his best way to combat the pain at this time."

JJ sighed as she followed the doctor down the hallway and towards Reid's door once more. After so many years, Reid still felt the effects of Tobias Henkel.

"Officer Ryan?" Morgan questioned to the man standing outside Reid's room as they prepared to enter. When the man nodded, Morgan continued. "I'm Agent Morgan, this is Agents Prentiss and Jareau. We will be out to speak to you shortly."

The officer nodded, looking almost nervous. He was a young man with probably very little experience under his belt. JJ felt for him; clearly he was being forced into something big early in his career but it was times like these that separated the boys from the men. It would be good for him.

With that last thought, Morgan pushed open the door and they all walked inside the small, dimly lit room. JJ's eyes wasted no time and immediately came to rest on the bed in the center of the room and its occupant.

Almost instantly JJ felt the knot in her stomach tighten uncomfortably at the sight before her. In all of her time working with the team and seeing them in so many awful conditions, Spence definitely looked the worst. Half covered by a thin sheet was a bright white cast on his right leg that went up to his knee while his left foot had slightly bloodied bandages wrapped around it as though his foot had perhaps gone through a window. Then, as JJ's eyes continued higher, she could make out thick white gauze wrapped around his ribcage through his thin hospital gown. His right arm, which was in a sling, was lying limply against his stomach and as JJ continued her visual check, she decided the sling was most likely there because of the misshapen, multicolored mess that was his collarbone.

Finally, and perhaps the worst of all, was his face. Most of it was either bandaged, swollen, bruised or a combination of the three and was finished off with a large white piece of gauze strapped to his upper forehead.

For a moment JJ felt sick. This broken person lying in front of her barely even looked like Spence. Immediately she pictured him covered in blood and his lanky body bent in odd angles. It was all too much for her.

"Damn, kid," Morgan breathed silently with a great deal of sadness in his voice.

JJ, her hand now over her mouth, just looked at him and was thankful he was apparently asleep because she didn't want him to see her so caught off guard. But as soon as the thought ran through her mind, a small, weak voice nearly made her jump.

"Hello," Reid said softly as one swollen eye opened halfway.

JJ, tears made of a thousand emotions now filling her eyes, smiled at the slightest hint of his playful tone. He was trying to be strong for them and that gave her an unimaginable sense of pride for him.

"Reid, you've outdone yourself this time," Emily replied, matching the attempt at lightheartedness.

He then seemed to shrug ever so slightly with his left shoulder only. "My vote is still on anthrax. Technically I was simply in a car accident which statistically…"

"Save your energy, Reid," Morgan said softly with grin. "What she meant is you look like hell."

He didn't seem to have anything to add or say to that so Morgan continued.

"Emily and I have to step out for a bit but listen to me," he said seriously, leaning a bit closer to Reid, "We are going to find who did this to you, ok?"

Reid nodded slightly then lifted his left hand for a feeble wave as Emily and Morgan left the room. He then shut his eyes for a moment before turning to JJ. He looked at her for a second between heavy lidded eyes and suddenly JJ wasn't quite sure what to do or say.

"Hey," is all that came out, which immediately made her feel as though she was wasting his time or something.

He continued to look at her a bit longer as though he were analyzing her before taking a pained breath.

"I'm okay," he said softly. "Just a little sore."

JJ couldn't hold back a smile. He had easily determined what was wrong with her and had said just the right thing to bring her out of the haze she had found herself in.

"Just a _little _sore, Spence?" she asked incredulously as she pulled a nearby chair closer and took a seat. "I somehow find that hard to believe."

Reid did his one-armed shrug again and shifted uncomfortably in his bed before replying, "There are things worse than pain."

JJ, deciding to not comment on the dark implications of his statement, took a chance and placed her hand on his left hand.

"Spence, I'm here for you," she said meaningfully, "You know that, right?"

He didn't reply for what seemed like a very long time but eventually, he nodded slightly and practically whispered, "Yes."

JJ smiled, deciding that was enough for now. She took a deep breath and felt all of her fears and doubts about how Spence felt about her disappear.

She then felt one of his long fingers twitch and lift up before coming to rest on top of one of her own and for the first time since Emily's return, JJ was certain that Spencer Reid had fully forgiven her.

"Okay Spence," she said with a newfound confidence. "Let's talk."


End file.
